Get Everything Done

Hi there. I've been on and off of this site for a very long time, since the beginning of AutoFous, I think. I thought I'd come back and share the little pocket notebook system that I've been using for the last 10 years or so. I'm not up on all of the names of the systems Mark has come up with but I know my version is a cobbled-together version of things I learned from his systems. I've tried so many things, both electronic and on paper, but nothing beats the simplicity of one long list and doing what feels right, right now.

I'm not sure how photos work here, but I've got a picture of my notebook on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/borgendorf/52130576263/in/datetaken-public/

I use a Field Notes notebook and a Fisher Space Pen (with o-rings so it doesn't slide out of my pocket). These two things are with me everywhere I go so I can jot things down as they come to me.

Each page starts with the date the page started at the top. Each entry is a task I need to do, typically written in GTD-style Action-word first. I leave a little empty space to the left of each line, where I will put a completion date and a dividing line. I go to the first page with unfinished tasks, scan until I find something I know I need to do right now, and put a dot next to it. When that task is completed, I put a vertical line down, covering the dot, and add the date. The date lets me go back through notebooks and see when I did something. If I work on a task and need to reenter it because it's not finished, it gets a down arrow instead of a date, and I reenter it at the end. If I've decided not to do a task, it gets an X.

The part of this that has worked so well for me is that when a page is done, I cut the corner off of the page so that I can quickly flip to the first page with an open space. It's purely psychological, but if I get behind enough that I'm writing new tasks down after having to manually turn a page, it forces me to really consider those older tasks and deal with them, just so I can complete the line down the page and cut the corner.

So thanks to you, Mark, for showing me that you don't have to spend so much time classifying and tagging tasks, which gives you more time to actually do the work. And thanks to all of you old-timers here for sharing your systems and results.

10 years! Thanks for sharing your method, it was inspiring!

I have been on this site for years - just watching and reading - I have tried most of the systems here and currently use a modified version of fast FVP on microsoft todo app on phone and PC. I know many of the names of the regular posters over the years too!!

I thank Borgendorf for his/her entry and picture and the 10 years testimony. I think I might try that, I love paper and pen but the digital apps are just so alluring as they seem quicker and more practical until you get tired of it and want to try another app.

Most of the net says many things but with no examples of what things looks like so thanks again Borgendorf!

Love it. All the best of Mark’s systems and paper. I’m using a Midori style book with dots.

That’s a very interesting system indeed. The different notations remind me of the bullet journal.

And yes the picture was very helpful for understanding the system.

10 years… Amazing

Nothing beats a notebook. I often find myself returning back to it.

I’m stealing the ‘date entry’ on the left idea.
I tried writing a done/ win list - to help me see the progress everyday.
But double work
Guess this is better 💡